Method and apparatus for mimo transmission

ABSTRACT

The present disclosure relates to methods and apparatuses. According to an embodiment of the disclosure, a method comprises: transmitting the number of antenna panels equipped at a user equipment (UE), transmitting the number of panel groups (PGs), transmitting PG information indicating which antenna panel is grouped into which PG, transmitting the number of coherent PGs (CPGs), and transmitting CPG information indicating which PG is grouped into which CPG.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure is directed to wireless communication technologyand, more particularly, to providing information for Multiple-InputMultiple-Output (MIMO) transmission.

BACKGROUND

Wireless communication systems are widely known in which base stations(also known as eNBs or gNBs, depending on the network type) communicatewith mobile devices (also known as user equipments (UEs)) which arewithin range of the base stations. Each base station divides itsavailable bandwidth, such as frequency and time resources, intodifferent resource allocations for different UEs. For example, UE can beconfigured with one or more sounding reference signal (SRS) resourcesfor uplink (UL) transmission.

MIMO is one technique used for data transmission in wirelesscommunication systems. A MIMO communication system can employ multipleantennas at the transmitter and/or at the receiver (often at both) toenhance the data capacity achievable between the transmitter and thereceiver. Every transmit (TX) antenna in a MIMO system is usuallyprovided with at least one RF or TX chain, which may have separate orshared transmitters or TX components. However, there will be differentcoherent transmission capabilities among different TX chains. This leadsto different UL coherent transmission capabilities, such asfull/non/partial-coherent transmission between SRS ports of one or moreSRS resources.

Thus, there is a need for providing coherent transmission capabilitiesof the TX chains of the UEs to the base station to facilitate theconfiguration of the codebook or coherent transmission for the UEs.

SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE

According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, a methodcomprises: transmitting the number of antenna panels equipped at a userequipment (UE), the number of antenna panels being at least one;transmitting the number of panel groups (PGs), wherein each PG includesone antenna panel or more than one antenna panels sharing at least onetransmit (TX) component of the UE; transmitting PG informationindicating which antenna panel is grouped into which PG; transmittingthe number of coherent PGs (CPGs), wherein each CPG includes at leasttwo PGs and the antenna panels in the at least two PGs of each CPG arecoherent; and transmitting CPG information indicating which PG isgrouped into which CPG.

According to another embodiment of the present disclosure, a methodcomprises: receiving the number of antenna panels equipped at a userequipment (UE), the number of antenna panels being at least one;receiving the number of panel groups (PGs), wherein each PG includes oneantenna panel or more than one antenna panels sharing at least onetransmit (TX) component of the UE; receiving PG information indicatingwhich antenna panel is grouped into which PG; receiving the number ofcoherent PGs (CPGs), wherein each CPG includes at least two PGs and theantenna panels in the at least two PGs of each CPG are coherent; andreceiving CPG information indicating which PG is grouped into which CPG.

Embodiments of the present disclosure also provide apparatuses forperforming the above methods.

In an embodiment of the present disclosure, an apparatus comprises oneor more transmitters, and one or more antenna panels, wherein eachantenna panel corresponds to at least one transmit (TX) component of theone or more transmitters. The one or more transmitters: transmit thenumber of the one or more antenna panels; transmit the number of panelgroups (PGs), wherein each PG includes one antenna panel or more thanone antenna panels sharing at least one TX component; transmit PGinformation indicating which antenna panel is grouped into which PG;transmit the number of coherent PGs (CPGs), wherein each CPG includes atleast two PGs and the antenna panels in the at least two PGs of each CPGare coherent; and transmit CPG information indicating which PG isgrouped into which CPG.

Embodiments of the present disclosure also provide non-transitorycomputer-readable media having stored thereon computer-executableinstructions to cause a processor to implement the above methods.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In order to describe the manner in which advantages and features of thedisclosure can be obtained, a description of the disclosure is renderedby reference to specific embodiments thereof which are illustrated inthe appended drawings. These drawings depict only example embodiments ofthe disclosure and are not therefore to be considered to be limiting ofits scope.

FIG. 1 illustrates a schematic wireless communication system accordingto an embodiment of the disclosure;

FIG. 2 illustrates a schematic MIMO communication system according to anembodiment of the disclosure;

FIG. 3 illustrates a flow chart for a method for transmitting coherentinformation according to an embodiment of the disclosure;

FIG. 4 illustrates a flow chart for a method for receiving coherentinformation according to an embodiment of the disclosure;

FIG. 5 illustrates a block diagram of an apparatus for transmittingcoherent information according to an embodiment of the disclosure; and

FIG. 6 illustrates a block diagram of an apparatus for receivingcoherent information according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The detailed description of the appended drawings is intended as adescription of the currently preferred embodiments of the presentdisclosure, and is not intended to represent the only form in which thepresent disclosure may be practiced. It is to be understood that thesame or equivalent functions may be accomplished by differentembodiments that are intended to be encompassed within the spirit andscope of the present disclosure.

FIG. 1 illustrates a wireless communication system 100 according to anembodiment of the disclosure.

As shown in FIG. 1, the wireless communication system 100 includes aplurality of base stations 10 including base stations 10 a and 10 b, anda plurality of UEs 12 including UEs 12 a, 12 b and 12 c. The pluralityof base stations 10 may be based on the standards of long-term evolution(LTE), LTE-Advanced (LTE-A), new radio (NR), or other suitablestandards. For example, the plurality of base stations 10 may be aplurality of eNBs, or a plurality of gNBs. In an embodiment of thedisclosure, the plurality of base stations 10 may be controlled by acontrol unit (not shown). Each base station 10 may define one or morecells 16, such as cell 16 a or 16 b, and each cell 16 may supportmobility management through the radio resource control (RRC) signaling.A group of cells 16 may form a radio access network-based (RAN-based)notification area (RNA). The UE 12 may be a computing device, a wearabledevice, and a mobile device, etc. The UEs with reference numerals 12 a,12 b and 12 c may represent the same UE moving in different locationswithin the coverage of the cell 16 a or 16 b, or different UEs. Personsskilled in the art should understand that as the 3GPP and thecommunication technology develop, the terminologies recited in thespecification may change, which should not affect the principle of thedisclosure.

FIG. 2 shows a MIMO communication system 200 including a receiver 210and a transmitter 212 according to an embodiment of the disclosure. Fordownlink (DL) transmission, receiver 210 may be part of a UE, andtransmitter 212 may be part of a base station. For uplink (UL)transmission, receiver 210 may be part of a base station, andtransmitter 212 may be part of a UE. In an embodiment, a UE or a basestation may include one or more receivers and one or more transmittersas shown in FIG. 2.

In FIG. 2, the transmitter 212 includes multiple TX antennas or antennapanels (i.e., antennas 213 a, 213 b, . . . and 213 t), and the receiver210 includes multiple receive (RX) antennas or antenna panels (i.e.,antennas 211 a, 211 b, . . . and 211 r). The TX/RX antenna panel mayhave separate or shared TX/RX components, such as Digital-to-AnalogConverter (DAC) and Phase-Locked Loop (PLL). When TX/RX antenna panelshave shared TX/RX components, only one panel in these TX/RX panels cantransmit/receive at a time (by means of panel switching or panelselection). When TX/RX antenna panels have separate TX/RX components,these TX/RX panels can transmit/receive independently. Moreover,coherent transmission can be supported if the antenna panels are allcoherent or calibrated. However, only non-coherent or partial-coherenttransmission can be applied when those antenna panels are not coherentor calibrated.

In an embodiment, the transmitter 212 may utilize TX beamformingtechnique. Possible TX beamforming schemes include analog, digital, andhybrid TX beamforming. Different TX beamforming schemes have differentcapabilities. For example, for analog beamforming, only one TX chain isequipped for one panel, and thus only one SRS port can be configured forone SRS resource of a corresponding panel. For digital or hybridbeamforming, multiple TX chains are equipped for one panel, and thusmultiple SRS ports can be configured for one SRS resource of acorresponding panel. There will be different coherent transmissioncapabilities among different TX chains. In particular, for digital orhybrid beamforming, different SRS ports may have different coherentlevels. Also, there will be different coherent transmission capabilitiesbetween different antenna panels. This leads to different coherenttransmission capabilities, such as full/non/partial-coherenttransmission between different SRS ports of one or more SRS resources.Therefore, there is a need for providing coherent transmissioncapabilities of the TX chains to the base station to facilitate theconfiguration of the codebook or coherent transmission for the UE. Inthe following, proposed schemes are presented in details.

FIG. 3 illustrates a flow chart for a method 300 for transmittingcoherent information according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

As shown in FIG. 3, in step 301, the number of antenna panels equippedat a UE is transmitted. In an embodiment, the number of the antennapanels is at least one. In step 302, the number of panel groups (PGs) istransmitted. In an embodiment, each PG includes one antenna panel ormore than one antenna panels sharing at least one TX component of theUE. In step 303, PG information indicating which antenna panel isgrouped into which PG is transmitted. In step 304, the number ofcoherent PGs (CPGs) is transmitted. In an embodiment, each CPG includesat least two PGs, and the antenna panels in the at least two PGs of eachCPG are coherent or calibrated. In step 305, CPG information indicatingwhich PG is grouped into which CPG is transmitted. In an embodiment, theabove information regarding the UE capability maybe signaled to a basestation (e.g., gNB) through RRC messages.

In an embodiment, the method 300 may further transmit an indicator ofbeamforming architecture of the UE. For example, the indicator mayindicate that the UE employs an analog beamforming architecture. Inanother example, the indicator may indicate that the UE employs a hybridor digital beamforming architecture. In the latter case, the method 300may further transmit the number of SRS ports. When the UE employs ahybrid or digital beamforming architecture, each antenna panel maysupport a plurality SRS ports. The method 300 then further transmits,for each antenna panel, the number of coherent SRS port groups (CSPGs).In an embodiment, each CSPG includes at least two SRS ports that arecoherent. The method 300 also transmits, for each CSPG, CSPG informationindicating which SRS port is grouped into which CSPG.

In an example, assuming that a UE employs an analog beamformingarchitecture, the US may then signal the following coherent informationto a base station (e.g., gNB):

  { Indicator for beamforming architecture: analog beamforming; Numberof panels; Number of PGs; Panels in each PG; Number of CPG; Panel groupsin each CPG; }

As mentioned above, in analog beamforming, each panel only has one TXchain, and a UE may be equipped with multiple panels. The transmissionof the above information thus allows the UE to support high rank andcoherent transmission. For example, “Panels in each PG” indicates thepanels that share TX components (such as DAC and PLL). That is, panelssharing any TX component are defined as a PG, where two panels in a samePG cannot transmit together, and different panels in different PGs cantransmit together. If all panels have separated TX chains, each panelwill belong to a single PG. Moreover, “Panel groups in each CPG”indicates the panels/PGs that are calibrated and can transmitcoherently. Panels in different CPGs are not calibrated and cannottransmit coherently.

In an embodiment, assuming that 4 panels are equipped at the UE sidewith analog beamforming, wherein panel 1 (P₁) and panel 2 (P₂) share oneTX chain, panel 3 (P₃) and panel 4 (P₄) share another TX chain, andthese two TX chains are calibrated or coherent, the above coherentinformation from the UE to the gNB may be implemented as follows:

  { Indicator for beamforming architecture: analog beamforming; Numberof panels=4; Number of panel groups=2; PG₁={P₁, P₂}, PG₂={P₃, P₄};Number of CPG =1; CPG₁={PG₁, PG₂} }

In another embodiment, assuming that all 4 panels in the aboveembodiment have separated TX chains, wherein TX chains of panel 1 andpanel 2 are coherent, TX chains of panel 3 and panel 4 are coherent, TXchains of panel 1/2 and TX chains of panel 3/4 are not coherent, theabove coherent information from the UE to the gNB may be implemented asfollows:

  { Indicator for beamforming architecture: analog beamforming; Numberof panels=4; Number of panel groups=4; PG₁={P₁}, PG₂={P₂}, PG₃={P₃},PG₄={P₄}; Number of CPG =2; CPG₁={PG₁, PG₂}, CPG₂={PG₃, PG₄} }

In another example, assuming that a UE employs a hybrid a nd digitalbeamforming architecture, the US may then signal the following coherentinformation to a base station (e.g., gNB):

  { Indicator for beamforming architecture: hybrid/digital beamforming;Number of panels; Number of SRS ports; Number of CSPG for each panel;SRS ports in each CSPG; Number of panel groups; Panels in each panelgroups; Number of CPG; Panel groups in each CPG; }

As mentioned above, in hybrid and digital beamforming, each panel mayhave multiple TX chains, which correspond to multiple SRS ports. Sincedifferent TX chains or different SRS ports may have different coherentlevels, the UE may signal one or more CSPGs, wherein all SRS ports in asame CSPG are calibrated and can transmit coherently, while any two SRSports in different CSPGs are not calibrated and cannot transmitcoherently. Similar to analog beamforming architecture, the UE shouldalso signal the information regarding the PGs and CPGs.

In an embodiment, assuming that 4 panels are equipped at the UE side,and each panel has 4 TX chains corresponding to 4 SRS ports, thecoherent information from the UE to the gNB may be implemented asfollows:

{ Indicator for beamforming architecture: hybrid/digital beamforming;Number of panels = 4; Number of SRS ports = 16; Number of CSPG for panel1=2; CSPG₁ ¹={SRS port 0, SRS port 1}, CSPG₂ ¹={SRS port 2, SRS port 3};Number of CSPG for panel 2=2; CSPG₁ ²={SRS port 4, SRS port 5}, CSPG₂²={SRS port 6, SRS port 7}; Number of CSPG for panel 3=2; CSPG₁ ³={SRSport 8, SRS port 9}, CSPG₂ ³={SRS port 10, SRS port 11}; Number of CSPGfor panel 4=2; CSPG₁ ⁴={SRS port 12, SRS port 13}, CSPG₂ ⁴={SRS port 14,SRS port 15}; Number of panel groups=2; PG₁={P₁, P₂}, PG₂={P₃, P₄};Number of CPG =1; CPG₁={PG₁, PG₂} }

The above information indicates:

-   -   1. SRS ports 0-3 belong to panel 1, SRS port 0 and SRS port 1        are coherent, SRS port 2 and SRS port 3 are coherent, and SRS        port 0/1 and SRS port 2/3 are not coherent.    -   2. SRS ports 4-7 belong to panel 2, SRS port 4 and SRS port 5        are coherent, SRS port 6 and SRS port 7 are coherent, and SRS        port 4/5 and SRS port 6/7 are not coherent.    -   3. SRS ports 8-11 belong to panel 3, SRS port 8 and SRS port 9        are coherent, SRS port 10 and SRS port 11 are coherent, and SRS        port 8/9 and SRS port 10/11 are not coherent.    -   4. SRS ports 12-15 belong to panel 4, SRS port 12 and SRS port        13 are coherent, SRS port 14 and SRS port 15 are coherent, and        SRS port 12/13 and SRS port 14/15 are not coherent.    -   5. Panel 1 and panel 2 share some of their TX components, and        panel 3 and panel 4 share some of their TX components.    -   6. TX chains of panel 1/2 and panel 3/4 are coherent.

In another embodiment, still assuming that 4 panels are equipped at theUE side, and each panel has 4 TX chains corresponding to 4 SRS ports,the coherent information from the UE to the gNB may be implemented asfollows:

  { Indicator for beamforming architecture: hybrid/digital beamforming;Number of panels = 4; Number of SRS ports = 16; Number of CSPG for panel1=1; CSPG₁ ¹={SRS port 0, SRS port 1, SRS port 2, SRS port 3} Number ofCSPG for panel 2=1; CSPG₁ ²={SRS port 4, SRS port 5, SRS port 6, SRSport 7}; Number of CSPG for panel 3=1; CSPG₁ ³={SRS port 8, SRS port 9,SRS port 10, SRS port 11}; Number of CSPG for panel 4=1; CSPG₁ ⁴={SRSport 12, SRS port 13, SRS port 14, SRS port 15}; Number of panelgroups=4; PG₁={P₁}, PG₂={P₂}, PG₃={P₃}, PG₄={P₄}; Number of CPG =2;CPG₁={PG₁, PG₂}, CPG₂={PG₃, PG₄}; }

In this case, the above information indicates:

-   -   1. SRS ports 0-3 belong to panel 1, and all these four (4) SRS        ports are coherent.    -   2. SRS ports 4-7 belong to panel 2, and all these 4 SRS ports        are coherent.    -   3. SRS ports 8-11 belong to panel 3, and all these 4 SRS ports        are coherent.    -   4. SRS ports 12-15 belong to panel 4, and all these 4 SRS ports        are coherent.    -   5. All of 4 panels have separated TX chains.    -   6. TX chains of panel 1 and panel 2 are coherent, TX chains of        panel 3 and panel 4 are coherent, and TX chains of panel 1/2 and        TX chains of panel 3/4 are not coherent.

In an embodiment, the method 300 may further comprise grouping antennapanels sharing at least one TX component of the UE into correspondingPGs.

In another embodiment, the method 300 may further comprise groupingcoherent PGs into corresponding CPGs.

In yet another embodiment, the method 300 may further comprise groupingcoherent SRS ports into corresponding CSPGs.

In still another embodiment, the method 300 may further comprise inresponse to receiving a transmitted precoding matrix indicator (TPMI),transmitting Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH) with precoderscorresponding to the TPMI.

FIG. 4 illustrates a flow chart for a method 400 for receiving coherentinformation according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

As shown in FIG. 4, in step 401, the number of antenna panels equippedat a UE is received. In an embodiment, the number of the antenna panelsis at least one. In step 402, the number of PGs is received. In anembodiment, each PG includes one antenna panel or more than one antennapanels sharing at least one TX component of the UE. In step 403, PGinformation indicating which antenna panel is grouped into which PG isreceived. In step 404, the number of CPGs is received. In an embodiment,each CPG includes at least two PGs, and the antenna panels in the atleast two PGs of each CPG are coherent. In step 405, CPG informationindicating which PG is grouped into which CPG is received.

In an embodiment, the method 400 may further comprise receiving anindicator of beamforming architecture of the UE. For example, theindicator may indicate that the UE employs an analog beamformingarchitecture. In another example, the indicator may indicate that the UEemploys a hybrid or digital beamforming architecture. In the lattercase, the method 400 may further comprise receiving the number of SRSports. As mentioned above, when the UE employs a hybrid or digitalbeamforming architecture, each antenna panel may support a plurality SRSports. The method 400 then further receives, for each antenna panel, thenumber of CSPGs. In an embodiment, each CSPG includes at least two SRSports that are coherent. The method 400 also receives, for each CSPG,CSPG information indicating which SRS port is grouped into which CSPG.

The above coherent transmission capability information may be receivedby a base station (e.g., gNB) through RRC messages. In response toreceiving the above information, the base station may allocate SRSresources based on the received coherent transmission capabilityinformation. For example, the base station may determine the UL SRS beam(UL TX beam/precoder) used for PUSCH and indicate the selected SRS beamto UE through an SRS resource indicator (SRI). SRI is a key component ofboth codebook-based and non-codebook-based UL MIMO. For codebook basedUL MIMO, an additional TX precoder may be applied on top of the selectedSRS beams.

In an embodiment, the method 400 further comprises in response toreceiving the PG information, determining an SRI for UE UL transmissionin a transmission time interval (TTI) based at least on selecting nomore than one antenna panel from a PG at a time. In another embodiment,the method 400 further comprises transmitting the SRI to the UE.

In an embodiment, the method 400 further comprises in response toreceiving the CPG information, determining a TPMI for UE UL transmissionin a TTI based at least on not configuring coherent transmission betweenantenna panels in different CPGs. In another embodiment, the method 400further comprises in response to receiving the CSPG information,determining the TPMI for UE UL transmission in a TTI based at least onnot configuring coherent transmission between SRS ports in differentCSPGs. In yet another embodiment, the method 400 further comprisestransmitting the TPMI to the UE.

FIG. 5 illustrates a block diagram of an apparatus 500 for transmittingcoherent information according to an embodiment of the disclosure. Theapparatus 500 may perform method 300 as described above. The apparatus500 may be a UE such as a computing device, a wearable device, and amobile device. The apparatus 500 can communicate with a base station.

As shown in FIG. 5, the apparatus 500 may include a memory 501, aprocessor 502, a transmitter 503, and a plurality of antennas or antennapanels including antennas/antenna panels 504 a, 504 b, . . . and 504 n.The transmitter 503 may comprise TX components such as DAC and/or PLL(not shown). Although in this figure, elements such as memory,processor, and transmitter are described in the singular, the plural iscontemplated unless limitation to the singular is explicitly stated.

In an embodiment, the apparatus 500 may comprise one or moretransmitters and one or more antenna panels, wherein each antenna panelcorresponds to at least one TX component of the one or moretransmitters. The one or more transmitters may transmit the number ofthe one or more antenna panels; transmit the number of PGs, wherein eachPG includes one antenna panel or more than one antenna panels sharing atleast one TX component; transmit PG information indicating which antennapanel is grouped into which PG; transmit the number of CPGs, whereineach CPG includes at least two PGs and the antenna panels in the atleast two PGs of each CPG are coherent; and transmit CPG informationindicating which PG is grouped into which CPG.

In another embodiment, the one or more transmitters may further transmitan indicator of beamforming architecture of the apparatus. For example,the indicator may indicate that the apparatus employs an analogbeamforming architecture. In another example, the indicator may indicatethat the apparatus employs a hybrid or digital beamforming architecture.In the latter case, each antenna panel may support a plurality of SRSports. The one or more transmitters may further transmit the number ofSRS ports supported by the one or more antenna panels. The one or moretransmitters then further transmit, for each antenna panel, the numberof CSPGs. In an embodiment, each CSPG includes at least two SRS portsthat are coherent. The one or more transmitters also transmit, for eachCSPG, CSPG information indicating which SRS port is grouped into whichCSPG.

In yet another embodiment, the processor 502 is coupled to one or moretransmitters, and groups antenna panels sharing at least one TXcomponent of the apparatus into corresponding PGs.

In still another embodiment, the processor 502 is coupled to one or moretransmitters, and groups coherent PGs into corresponding CPGs.

In yet still another embodiment, the processor 502 is coupled to one ormore transmitters, and groups coherent SRS ports into correspondingCSPGs.

In still yet another embodiment, the one or more transmitters furthertransmit, in response to receiving a TPMI, PUSCH with precoderscorresponding to the TPMI.

FIG. 6 illustrates a block diagram of an apparatus 600 for receivingcoherent information according to an embodiment of the disclosure. Theapparatus 600 may perform method 400 as described above. The apparatus600 may be a base station that can communicate with UE(s).

As shown in FIG. 6, the apparatus 600 may include a memory 601, aprocessor 602, a transmitter 603, and a receiver 604. Although in thisfigure, elements such as memory, processor, transmitter, and receiverare described in the singular, the plural is contemplated unlesslimitation to the singular is explicitly stated. In an embodiment, theprocessor 602 may perform method 400 as described above.

Those having ordinary skill in the art would understand that the stepsof a method described in connection with the aspects disclosed hereinmay be embodied directly in hardware, in a software module executed by aprocessor, or in a combination of the two. A software module may residein RAM memory, flash memory, ROM memory, EPROM memory, EEPROM memory,registers, a hard disk, a removable disk, a CD-ROM, or any other form ofstorage medium known in the art. Additionally, in some aspects, thesteps of a method may reside as one or any combination or set of codesand/or instructions on a non-transitory computer-readable medium, whichmay be incorporated into a computer program product.

While this disclosure has been described with specific embodimentsthereof, it is evident that many alternatives, modifications, andvariations may be apparent to those skilled in the art. For example,various components of the embodiments may be interchanged, added, orsubstituted in the other embodiments. Also, all of the elements of eachfigure are not necessary for operation of the disclosed embodiments. Forexample, one of ordinary skill in the art of the disclosed embodimentswould be enabled to make and use the teachings of the disclosure bysimply employing the elements of the independent claims. Accordingly,embodiments of the disclosure as set forth herein are intended to beillustrative, not limiting. Various changes may be made withoutdeparting from the spirit and scope of the disclosure.

1. A method, comprising: transmitting the number of antenna panelsequipped at a user equipment, the number of antenna panels being atleast one; transmitting the number of panel groups, wherein each panelgroup includes one antenna panel or more than one antenna panels sharingat least one transmit component of the user equipment; transmittingpanel group information indicating which antenna panel is grouped intowhich panel group; transmitting the number of coherent panel groups,wherein each coherent panel group includes at least two panel groups andthe antenna panels in the at least two panel groups of each coherentpanel group are coherent; and transmitting coherent panel groupinformation indicating which panel group is grouped into which coherentpanel group.
 2. The method of claim 1, further comprising: transmittingan indicator of beamforming architecture of the user equipment.
 3. Themethod of claim 2, wherein the indicator indicates that the userequipment employs an analog beamforming architecture.
 4. The method ofclaim 2, wherein the indicator indicates that the user equipment employsa hybrid or digital beamforming architecture.
 5. The method of claim 4,further comprising: transmitting the number of sounding reference signalports, wherein each antenna panel supports a plurality of soundingreference signal ports; transmitting, for each antenna panel, the numberof coherent sounding reference signal port groups, wherein each coherentsounding reference signal port group includes at least two soundingreference signal ports that are coherent; and transmitting, for eachcoherent sounding reference signal port group, coherent soundingreference signal port group information indicating which soundingreference signal port is grouped into which coherent sounding referencesignal port group.
 6. The method of claim 1, further comprising:grouping antenna panels sharing at least one transmit component of theuser equipment into corresponding panel groups.
 7. The method of claim1, further comprising: grouping coherent panel groups into correspondingcoherent panel groups.
 8. The method of claim 5, further comprising:grouping coherent sounding reference signal ports into correspondingcoherent sounding reference signal port groups.
 9. (canceled) 10.(canceled)
 11. A method, comprising: receiving the number of antennapanels equipped at a user equipment, the number of antenna panels beingat least one; receiving the number of panel groups, wherein each panelgroup includes one antenna panel or more than one antenna panels sharingat least one transmit component of the user equipment; receiving panelgroup information indicating which antenna panel is grouped into whichpanel group; receiving the number of coherent panel groups, wherein eachcoherent panel group includes at least two panel groups and the antennapanels in the at least two panel groups of each coherent panel group arecoherent; receiving coherent panel group information indicating whichpanel group is grouped into which coherent panel group; transmitting asounding reference signal resource indicator to the user equipment andtransmitting a transmitted precoding matrix indicator to the userequipment.
 12. The method of claim 11, further comprising: receiving anindicator of beamforming architecture of the user equipment.
 13. Themethod of claim 12, wherein the indicator indicates that the userequipment employs an analog beamforming architecture.
 14. The method ofclaim 12, wherein the indicator indicates that the user equipmentemploys a hybrid or digital beamforming architecture.
 15. The method ofclaim 14, further comprising: receiving the number of sounding referencesignal ports, wherein each antenna panel supports a plurality ofsounding reference signal ports; receiving, for each antenna panel, thenumber of coherent sounding reference signal port groups, wherein eachcoherent sounding reference signal port group includes at least twosounding reference signal ports that are coherent; and receiving, foreach coherent sounding reference signal port group, coherent soundingreference signal port group information indicating which soundingreference signal port is grouped into which coherent sounding referencesignal port group.
 16. The method of claim 11, further comprising: inresponse to receiving the panel group information, determining thesounding reference signal resource indicator for user equipment uplinktransmission in a transmission time interval based at least on selectingno more than one antenna panel from a panel group at a time.
 17. Themethod of claim 11, further comprising: in response to receiving thecoherent panel group information, determining the transmitted precodingmatrix indicator (TPMI) for user equipment uplink transmission in atransmission time interval based at least on not configuring coherenttransmission between antenna panels in different coherent panel groups.18. The method of claim 15, further comprising: in response to receivingthe coherent sounding reference signal port group information,determining a transmitted precoding matrix indicator for user equipmentuplink transmission in a transmission time interval based at least onnot configuring coherent transmission between sounding reference signalports in different coherent sounding reference signal port groups. 19.(canceled)
 20. (canceled)
 21. An apparatus, comprising: one or moretransmitters; and one or more antenna panels, wherein each antenna panelcorresponds to at least one transmit component of the one or moretransmitters; wherein the one or more transmitters: transmit the numberof the one or more antenna panels; transmit the number of panel groups,wherein each panel group includes one antenna panel or more than oneantenna panels sharing at least one transmit component; transmit panelgroup information indicating which antenna panel is grouped into whichpanel group; transmit the number of coherent panel groups, wherein eachcoherent panel group includes at least two panel groups and the antennapanels in the at least two panel groups of each coherent panel group arecoherent; and transmit coherent panel group information indicating whichpanel group is grouped into which coherent panel group.
 22. Theapparatus of claim 21, wherein the one or more transmitters furthertransmit an indicator of beamforming architecture of the apparatus. 23.The apparatus of claim 22, wherein the indicator indicates that theapparatus employs an analog beamforming architecture.
 24. The apparatusof claim 22, wherein the indicator indicates that the apparatus employsa hybrid or digital beamforming architecture.
 25. The apparatus of claim24, wherein each antenna panel supports a plurality sounding referencesignal ports, and wherein the one or more transmitters further: transmitthe number of sounding reference signal ports supported by the one ormore antenna panels; transmit, for each antenna panel, the number ofcoherent sounding reference signal port groups, wherein each coherentsounding reference signal port group includes at least two soundingreference signal ports that are coherent; and transmit, for eachcoherent sounding reference signal port group, coherent soundingreference signal port group information indicating which soundingreference signal port is grouped into which coherent sounding referencesignal port group.
 26. The apparatus of claim 21, further comprising aprocessor coupled to the one or more transmitters, and wherein theprocessor groups antenna panels sharing at least one transmit componentof the apparatus into corresponding panel groups.
 27. The apparatus ofclaim 21, further comprising a processor coupled to the one or moretransmitters, and wherein the processor groups coherent panel groupsinto corresponding coherent panel groups.
 28. The apparatus of claim 25,further comprising a processor coupled to the one or more transmitters,and wherein the processor groups coherent sounding reference signalports into corresponding coherent sounding reference signal port groups.29. (canceled)
 30. (canceled)
 31. (canceled)
 32. (canceled) 33.(canceled)